The following is a true saga detailing the challenges, frustrations, endless days, and the excitement, joy, and personal satisfaction of building a home with my daughter (Hayden). I am a professional general contractor specializing in historic homes outside of Pittsburgh, PA, with intimate hands-on experience and knowledge of all elements of the home construction process. However, 35 + years of experience failed to fully prepare me for such an undertaking. Looking back, it is easy to recognize the long odds against pulling off this ambitious venture, but as with many worthwhile things in our lives, if we knew the downside upfront, we would be inclined to do nothing.
From an established east coast construction environment to a 9000’ remote mountain, ground-up home build, it was safe to say I found myself out of my comfort zone. Before breaking ground, a local contractor predicted we would retreat in failure as many had done before, as they believed experience in other geographic areas would translate to mountain building. Even though such a statement was akin to waving a red flag in the face of a raging bull, there were times during the process when I wondered privately if he was possibly correct, as there were moments of true desperation on this long journey. Pressing on through extremes of weather conditions and numerous unpredictable pandemic-precipitated circumstances, there were moments when we thought we had reached the end of ourselves. We had not, as somehow, we had found a more bottomless reservoir from which to draw.
I am changing some names to protect the innocent, although I reserve the right to identify specific vendors and service providers who have made an actual difference in our project. Their contribution(s) may have been normal daily operations for them, but those interactions became meaningful to us. A port in the storm. If you are in Grand County, Colorado, and need contact information for these service providers, I will gladly share them with you upon request.
The physical and emotional demands were too consuming to document in real time. Perhaps, looking back, I will be able to more accurately paint a picture of what it was like to be us during the different stages of development and construction. Each subsequent post will follow the project's timeline from beginning to end, sharing our personal journey with you. This little adventure has a happy ending, although if you follow the process, you may wonder how. I can not, and will not, speak to my daughter's thoughts or impressions, but she still tells me she loves me and has even alluded to an inclination of a growing desire for a sequel. Needless to say, I will not be part of any Part 2, but referencing the original, all is well that ends well.
This docu-story starts in late 2019 and early ‘20 when my middle daughter of three, living in Denver, Co., commenced searching for, as she aptly defined it, “Her vacation home, first.” Single and a remote worker before it became the accepted norm, there was an understanding she could live anywhere and decided the mountains beckoned. Her weekends became resort town pilgrimages, looking at countless multi-list real estate options even if they only ticked a few of her must-have boxes. Realtors bombarded her with options in all the typical resort towns; Dillon, Breckenridge, and Vail, to name a few, and many small inter-mountain communities off the beaten path. The process was enlightening more from the perspective of realtors' attempt to skew real estate options towards what they perceived a single female should be interested in purchasing. She quickly came to several conclusions. In the conventional home purchasing sense, her budget effectively eliminated existing detached single-family options unless it was a remote and primitive cabin. This provided few of the amenities she desired, including high-speed internet. The realtors would continue to push typical condos and townhomes as what should make the most sense for her. Although within her budget, most condos/townhomes were canned stereotypical options in the pricey range for what was offered. Many needed costly upgrades, had expensive HOAs, and were in developments catering to vacationers, not residents. All non-starters for how she viewed the next phase of her life as she wanted a home.
The properties all seemed to have one thing in common, she would need to lower her expectations. Perhaps out of frustration, she told one realtor that a possible option was to find a lot and build. She was surprised as the realtor became angry, stating she was a ridiculous, silly girl who had no idea what she would get into. Thanks to her dad, this girl lived through 6 gut home renovations from when she was 1 year old. This realtor had no idea who they were dealing with, and Hayden was convinced it was time to change realtors. During one of our regular phone conversations, she ran the build idea up the flag pole by casually asking if I would be willing to help her as a significant element of my company was in design. How could a loving father say no? Little did I know we were not entirely on the same page with this subtle and seemingly benign request.
Weeks into the lockdown, while most people were ensconced in their PJs and watching reruns of Seinfeld, my daughters’ quest veered off into a new direction. New agent(s) were contacted (probably also in their PJs and slippers) and, with no basis to pigeonhole her search, presented buildable options. So early in April 2020, during the height of ‘Mud Season,’ she traversed gravel roads and walked through snow-cover lots. Not long into pursuing her new focus, she stumbled into a privately held community that had been in slow development for decades and only contained a smattering of mountain homes. It was adjacent to a family-friendly tertiary ski resort, not on anyone’s radar.
One Saturday, late April ‘20, I received a mid-morning call as our new thing was to walk properties together via FaceTime. The CDC had successfully scared everyone, so she was alone as realtors were reduced to office facilitators emailing lot specs and passing on relevant information via phone. That particular day, the first property was basically an acre of open field with an incredible view of the continental divide. Lovely property, but as her call was short, it apparently did not ring any bells for her, and she quickly announced she would call from the next property. I noted the time between calls was not commensurate with the short distance she traveled as the next lot was less than a half mile deeper into the development. When the call finally came all I could see was a screen full of a face beaming from ear to ear. She stood in a grove of aspen and ponderosa pine just below the tree line and buried up to her butt in a snow bank. Her excitement was contagious and it was obvious she could barely contain her enthusiasm. “Dad, I found it”.
A private, double-sized lot, one lot removed from the ski resort next door. Possibility of a ski-in, ski-out home. According to the realtor, the seller was highly motivated. Hayden, one never to beat around the bush, quickly got to the point, “Dad, what do you think I should offer?” as she shivered either from excitement, exposure, or a combination of both. I know my daughter, and I knew she was serious, but as a good, loving father, I felt I needed to temper her enthusiasm by attempting to tactfully convey some of the harsh realities this route would entail. Now that I think about it, it is like the realtor she dumped.
Either I wasn’t forceful enough, or what she heard failed to register because, with each passing moment, her commitment became more deeply embedded. Some could call it a stubborn mindset, while others identify it as resolve and focus. They are opposite sides of the same coin, heading in the same direction. Undoubtedly, I was caught up in her enthusiasm as my role of a sounding board quickly became a cheerleader as I helped her work through details. I always enjoyed real estate transactions, so I responded, “If you are serious, Let the games begin!"
